HTNVY.DUTY CIRCULAR SNWS T ITSTNII ... - Wood Tools

Install A CountertopNew cabinets haae a powerfaleffect on a kitchen remodelingproject. In terms of layout andbudget, few improaements ca,rryrnore weight. But when it comesto aisual impact, countertops canplay an equally important role.Using color, texfure, and edgingdetails, countertops easily holdtheir own alongside vast expansesof cabineffy.With a .rainbow of colors tochoose from, not to mention thevariety of materials available, ifs asure bet you can get the uniquelook you want. And, if you'researching forways to revitalize yourkitchen without financing a secondmortgage, paint and new countertopsmay offer the adrenaline boostyour tired old decor needs.48 \U?'orkbench r Iune 1998In our case, we added customcountertops to the new Merillatcabinets we installed recently inconfributing editor Bob Settich'skitchen. (We chronicled that firstphase of our remodeling project inThey selected laminate (455660Scopra) for the counter surfaces,and picked a backsplash (SS profile) and edging (SE style), all fromWilsonarlThe edging and backsplashhave athin accent stipe thatthe April 1998 issue of.Workbench.) breaks up the expanse ofthe counters.(For more options, turn to SrrMany materials were ruled outearly because they simply weren't Eary Ed,girg Ideas on page 52.)within the budget Bob and his wifeBarbara had set for the project. Moking it SeomlessWhat the budget allowed was plasticlaminate covered countertops. sions, we went to work. The firstOnce the Settichs made their deci-Bob considered going to a local thing we did was order Medex forbuilding center to purchase post-the base layer, or substrate.formed units - those with thebacksplash and edging formed inone piece - but in the end optedfor sitebuilt countertops. Thechance to pick a laminate and addedging of their choice was a bigfactor in the decision. They alsoliked the idea of a seamless corner- a feature I'll explain later.Medex is a water-resistant versionof medium-density fiberboard(MDD. Ifs stable, smooth, andflat, and we found it easy to frim,despite the clouds of fine dustthatbillow up when you machine iLCreating invisible seams withlaminate is difficult, and oftenseams become glaringly obvious